FURMAN UNIVERSITY
THE FURMAN ADVANTAGE
2015-2016 TEACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
For SUMMER 2015, FALL 2015, SPRING 2016
www.furman.edu/engaged
Rev. 10-14
PROGRAM DEFINITION: The Furman Advantage Teaching Fellowship program offers the opportunity for teaching
fellows to work with Furman faculty throughout the academic year. It is designed to promote effective teaching and learning
through innovative course design, development, and delivery and to give Teaching Fellows substantive experiences through
their involvement in these activities. Each $450 fellowship assumes four to five hours of activity per week during fall or
spring term. A very limited number of $1500 awards will be made for summer 2015 for more concentrated project work
(eight to ten weeks of half-time activity, or four to five weeks of full-time activity), but not to support summer session
courses.
ELIGIBILITY: Faculty in all academic departments are eligible to apply for teaching fellows for activities related to their
courses. However, requests for resources to support FYS/W courses are not funded by the Furman Advantage Teaching
Fellowship Program.
Fellows will usually be seniors who have a GPA of 3.0 or better in their majors. Academic credit may not be awarded for the
fellowship. Any questions concerning the eligibility of a student should be directed to Dr. Timothy Fehler (phone - 3607).
APPLICATION DEADLINES: Submit applications electronically (name the file “YourlastnameTeaching2015-16”) to
furmanadvantage@furman.edu by Wednesday, April 1, 2015. This deadline must be met for all summer projects or Fall
2015 classes. While you are encouraged to meet this earlier deadline for all 2015-16 courses, applications for Spring 2016
classes may be submitted by a new fall deadline of Friday, October 2, 2015.
PLEASE NOTE: The student page should be completed by the student and then included in the application package.
GUIDELINES:
1. Faculty receiving teaching fellows must commit themselves to closely supervising each fellow and to involving the
fellow meaningfully in the teaching project.
2. Teaching fellows are to be regarded as junior colleagues of faculty members. They should not be used primarily as
secretarial or clerical staff or as monitors or attendants for teaching facilities. Fellows should not replace faculty in the
grading of academic work.
3. So that fellows can receive consistent monitoring and support, they should not be divided among an excessive number of
projects or supervisors.
4. Faculty awarded teaching fellows are required to submit a short summary report to the Advantage Committee by the
beginning of the following semester.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION: The Furman Advantage Committee will use the following criteria as the basis for
awarding Teaching Fellowships:
1. Quality of the teaching project proposed. We are looking for creative proposals that help faculty explore and develop
new and innovative teaching methods that result in new educational opportunities for their students.
2. The degree to which the teaching fellow is meaningfully involved in the project.
3. Availability of teaching fellows from other sources.
Priority will be given to new projects that are designed to stimulate the development of innovative instruction. If a project is
successful, we urge faculty to seek other sources of support for continuation of the project (i.e., most likely through the
appropriate academic department.)
Given the above criteria, efforts will be made to ensure an equitable distribution of fellows across disciplines.
THE FURMAN ADVANTAGE 2015-2016 TEACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
FACULTY APPLICATION
Name your file “YourlastnameTeaching2015-16”
Submit electronically to furmanadvantage@furman.edu by April 1, 2015. (Applications for Spring 2016 courses
are encouraged to meet the earlier April deadline; however, you may also submit applications for Spring 2016
courses by October 2, 2015.)
FACULTY NAME:
Furman ID#:
DEPARTMENT:
DEPARTMENT CHAIR:
List the name(s) of the student(s), course(s), and term(s) for the proposed project.
Attach a student application form for each fellow nominated.
STUDENT(S)
COURSE(S) - NUMBER & TITLE
TERM(S)
1) Give a clear and concise description of the project. Be as detailed as possible in describing the project and in
describing the planned activities for the fellow.
2) If this is the first time you are applying for a teaching fellow for this project, describe the ways in which
working with the fellow on this project will impact the course(s).
3) If you have received a fellow for this project before, list the term(s) and year(s) of previous support and
describe how the fellow helped you to improve the quality of instruction and student learning in your course.
Describe any changes, if any, in the fellow’s activities in this current application. If the teaching fellow has
become an indispensable part of your course, what attempts have you made to seek more permanent sources of
support for this position?
4) If you have not selected a specific student for this project, list any special skills and/or experiences that the
student needs to participate in the project.
BE SURE TO SPEAK EXPLICITLY WITH YOUR PROPOSED STUDENT(S) to ensure that they are
fully aware of expected activities. This will also help them make their own essay fuller and more specific.
Your department chair must submit an endorsement of your proposal. Copy the following, insert your
name and name of course or project, e-mail it to your department chair, and ask him/her to forward it to
furmanadvantage@furman.edu by April 1, 2015 (or the fall deadline if submitting for a spring course).
DEPARTMENT CHAIR ENDORSEMENT:
I have read the guidelines and criteria for evaluation for the Furman Advantage Teaching Fellowship program.
Having spoken with faculty name, I am confident that this proposal for name of course or project is designed to
promote effective teaching and to give substantive experiences to Furman Advantage Teaching Fellows. (Chairs –
Please add any additional information that you deem appropriate.)
THE FURMAN ADVANTAGE
2015-2016 TEACHING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
STUDENT APPLICATION
(Attach a student application form for each fellow nominated.)
STUDENTS: Submit this form to the faculty member with whom you will be collaborating.
Faculty Supervisor:
Course(s):
STUDENT NAME:
ID#:
E-MAIL:
Local Address:
City, State, Zip:
Local phone:
Permanent address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone:
Expected Graduation Date:
Major:
Overall GPA:
Major GPA:
List the courses (numbers and titles) completed in the major:
List non-major courses (numbers and titles) completed that would be relevant to this teaching project:
List any other special skills and/or experiences that are relevant to this project:
Write an essay that addresses the following:
Why do you want to participate in this project? How does it relate to your interests, studies, and future education
and/or career plans? (Please provide specific supporting examples of previous classes or experiences.)
Please note that the quality and thoughtfulness of the essay plays an important role in the Committee’s
deliberations in the awarding of this competitive fellowship.